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Sunday, January 31, 2016

Hello all! We all arrived in Hanaly Corners at the end of 2015. We are very proud to be chosen to announce the winner of A Day in the Life of My Dolls Blog Giveaway #1! First let us introduce ourselves.

And now, we would like to announce the winner of Blog Giveaway #1:

Carrickters

To claim your prize, please send an email to Phyllis at amaphyl526@gmail.com with your name, shipping address and email address so that I can contact you to let you know when your item has shipped.

Congratulations, Carrickters! I hope you enjoy your prize!

For the rest of you, don't give up. The next giveaway item will be posted by tomorrow morning! Remember, there will be 3 more, so you still have a chance to win!

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

When they say time flies, they are really not kidding! On January 19, 1997 in a beautiful hotel in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China, I first laid my eyes on my very first daughter. I remember it like it was yesterday. The myriad of emotions I felt are still with me on this anniversary. I remember feeling scared and panicky after arriving in China. What on earth made me think I could do this all by myself?! But, when they handed me this tiny little bundle of sweetness, I looked down on her and fell in love. She was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. I was so overwhelmed with emotion, I thought my heart would burst. I was suddenly a mom! This was something I never thought I would be. Now, 19 years later, I still get that feeling when I look at both of my girls. Below, is the picture I received from China (called a referral photo).

Alyssa Li Lan Referral Photo

She has grown to be a beautiful young woman. She is a wonderful artist, a caring individual and a joy to be around (well, most of the time!) Here she is now:

On the 5 year anniversary of her adoption in 2002, I wrote the below poem to help her to understand a little about her start in life and how we became a family:

5 Years Ago

5 years ago I took a trip all the way across the
seaAnd on that trip I first met you and we became a
family.I'd prayed and prayed that someday I would be a
MomAnd the Lord, He gave His answer but I did not
know where from.

Meanwhile somewhere in China a woman had a baby
girl,But, alas, the laws of that country would not
let her keep her pearl.So one sad day she took you to the Guixi
Children's Home,And she kissed you and said "I love
you" and she prayed for you ahome.

She said she would remember you, she hoped you'd
understandThat she must leave you now so that your life
could be moregrand.On that day God planted a seed that could not be
torn apart,And you were born again, but this time in my
heart.

Now came a day in November of 1996That the postman brought your picture and my
heart was filled withbliss.I cried and held you deeply right there in my
heart,Until the day when I could board the plane for
China to depart.

There were so many stops that were made along
the way,From Detroit to Chicago then on to L.A.Then finally on to China where our hearts and
eyes would meet,In a hotel known as the Lakeview where others go
to greet.

My heart jumped with joy as I saw you across the
room,Then I waited 'til they called my name which
happened very soon.Then I held you close and looked as you cried
there in my armsAnd I tried so hard to reassure you that you'd
never come to harm.

Somewhere in the scurry of that very busy day,You laid your head upon my chest as if you were
to say,"I know you are my mommy and I trust you
now you see,I will hold on to you tightly and let you take
care of me!"

So on that day 5 years ago our hearts began to
bondEver growing with love so wonderful a gift from
the great beyond.Now as I watch you sleeping in our home in
Michigan,My heart fills with joy as I remember that
special day again.

I thank God for His angel and its true now that
I know,That the years and years of waiting were His own
way to showThat in his gracious wisdom it was always meant
to beFor us to be together as a forever family.

Sunday, January 24, 2016

I hope you all remember that I promised to do a blog giveaway soon after the start of the new year. So here I am announcing my first blog giveaway! I am hoping I can make this an annual event. I decided to follow the example of Brini of Brini's Doll Domain and have a series of items to give away. There will be 4 different giveaways. This is the first. I also decided to have the last dolls of 2015 introduce themselves and announce each giveaway.

"Hi all, we are some of the new residents of Hanaly Corners that were added late in 2015. From left to right, we are Carly Lager, Millie Robertson and Shula Washington. Some of you may recognize us as the 2015 Barbie Look dolls introduced by Mattel in the last quarter of 2015. We do not know what our roles are yet in Hanaly Corners or even if we have other family members here, but we have been enlisted to announce Blog Giveaway #1."

Millie: "These adorable accessory packs are for the first Giveaway."Carly: "Are you sure we have to give these away? They are so cute, especially those black gladiator sandles!"Shula: "Those are for flat footed dolls, not for our type of feet!"

Millie: "Here is a closer look at the items for this Giveaway."

Shula: "Here are the rules for the Giveaway:

You need to be a follower of this blog to enter.

You can only enter one time for each Giveaway.

You will have one week to enter.

You will need to leave a comment stating you would like to participate.

Winner will be selected at random. Once you have won a Giveaway, you will not be eligible for the subsequent Giveaways in this series.

The winner will be announced via blog and will be asked for personal email to communicate through.

You will have one week to respond.

Your item will be shipped out upon receipt of your shipping information and the postage will be covered by Phyllis.

I was also nominated by Farrah Lily and her questions are different enough in that I will also answer her questions in a separate post.OK, now, for the Rules:

Thank the person who presented you the award and link back to their blog.

Post the award image on your blog.

Answer 11 questions posted by the presenter.

Nominate 5 blogs with less than 200 followers.

Create 11 questions for the nominees to answer.

List these rules in your post. Inform the people you chose of their nomination by leaving a comment on their blog and link them to your post.

Here are my answers to the 11 questions posed by Brini:

What is your most treasured doll and why? My most treasured doll would probably be my vintage Platinum Bubble Cut Barbie from the 1960's. Although I don't have my original doll from my childhood anymore, the quest to find a "replacement" for her is what got me into collecting.

My Vintage Bubble Cut Barbie

What motivates you to continue your blog? You guys! As I gain followers and receive comments, this provides encouragement for me to continue my blog. Also, reading your blogs and stories is a big motivator to me as well.

What blog challenges have you faced, (limiting, selling, etc.)? All of the above! Space has been a huge challenge for me. Also funding my habit er hobby! I need to sell some dolls or donate them. Since I have rebodied a lot of my dolls, I need to move out the old, stiff bodies.

What new skills have you challenged yourself to in your selected playscale? Furniture modification and making. Whether it is painting and renewing the pink plastic Barbie furniture or making a table and chair set, I have challenged myself to do this. Also, while I can sew, I find making nice 1:6 scale doll clothes challenging because of the small size. I would better from a pattern, so I would like to learn more about creating my own patterns.

Here is the first sofa I made!

What was the last item you created or purchased for yourself that you second guess because you rather have a doll time? Interesting question! I really don't buy that much for myself such as clothes, etc. because when I do buy something for me, it is usually doll related! I did purchase a new expensive air cleaner that I regret purchasing as I could have bought many other things if I had not purchased that. I do sometimes feel guilty about how much I spent on my dolls because our funds are so much more limited now that I am retired.

How do you decide what to add to your collection? Reading blogs of other collectors and viewing photos on Flickr make me aware of what is out there and I often make a decision based on what I see from other collections. Sometimes it is news from Mattel or Integrity Toys that motivates me to purchase a new item.

What was the one doll mistake you made and what did you learn from it? When the Made to Move Barbies first came out, I was very anxious to get one and purchased a set of dolls well above the market price. Once they came out in abundance, I did buy more of them as body donors and the lower retail price, but I was mad a myself for acting too quickly.

Which doll was your holy grail and do you feel the same about the doll now? In 2015, my holy grail doll was Ruruko. All the ones I saw on eBay were so expensive that I could not bring myself to spend the money. Through communication with some of my Flickr friends, I found out how to purchase them directly from Petworks and I purchased my first Rururko. After that, I was hooked and purchased a few more of them. I still love them! They are so adorable! I do not regret purchasing them or their older siblings (Momoko)!

Has anyone ever given you a doll gift that you did not know if you should accept it or not? No, I really don't receive that many doll related gifts. My kids have purchased some doll items for me as birthday or Christmas gifts and my sister once got me a Barbie doll as she also collects them, but I do not receive many doll gifts.

Which doll or item is on your wish list that you will no longer pursue? I really wanted to get the Karl Lagerfeld Barbie, but her prices on the secondary market are just too high and I since that have released her face mold in a few other lines, I am happy to have those and I could always get one of them rerooted to look like her!

Which doll will be the doll you have to have this year? Now that Mattel has announced that the Barbie Fashion Model Collection Silkstone dolls will all be on jointed bodies for 2016, I have added that to my "have to have" list. I have seen a few of them on Amazon at an inflated price, but not yet on "TheBarbieCollection.com". I have learned my lesson on this one and I will wait!

About Me

I have always loved Barbie dolls. I got my first doll at the age of 8 or 9 and she was a platinum bubble cut Barbie. As an adult, I have discovered the world of doll collecting and playing with them as an adult through several doll blogs. My interests now have expanded beyond Barbie to Fashion Royalty, Mixis, Pretty Girls and other 1:6 scale dolls and action figures. I am also an avid crafter and can sew, so I have been incorporating these hobbies into my doll world as well. I am happy to share my collection through photographs and stories on my blog.